Germany to give Afghanistan € 240 million in aid

Germany plans to support the reconstruction of Afghanistan with 240 million euros (257 million dollars) in aid, adding another country to the list of nations to receive funds from Berlin this month.

While 160 million euros of the donation are not attached to any conditions, one-third of the total sum will be dependent on Kabul pushing through reform measures, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development said Friday.

The German government has been offering countries in Northern Africa and the Middle East aid, partly in hopes of slowing down migration from those countries after nearly 2 million migrants entered Germany in the last two years.

Last week Germany said it would give Tunisia 250 million euros to support development projects in poor areas as well as additional money to help deported Tunisian migrants, but expected better cooperation from the North African nation on deportations in return.

Also last week, Berlin pledged to give Egypt 500 million dollars to support the government‘s economic program and small and medium businesses.

German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Gerd Mueller also presented last month what he called a "Marshall Plan" for Africa, calling for Germany companies to focus on the continent. One of the goals of the plan is also to curb migratory flows from Africa to Europe.

Separate from the aid announcement, Germany and Afghanistan are developing an employment program to build streets and schools in rural areas.

No other country receives as much federal German aid as Afghanistan in total.

One factor of the Afghan conflict is the Afghan government's failure to maintain a balance in its foreign policy. The imbalanced foreign policies of governments have paved the ground for Afghanistan to turn into a battlefield of proxy wars.